TechRadar: All Compact cameras Feeds

Ricoh GX200

Rod Lawton — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:32:00 +0000

There are a lot of interesting features to pick out with the Ricoh GX200.

The ﬁrst is the wide-angle zoom, which has a focal range equivalent to 24-72mm – perfect for photographers fed up with the rather weak 35mm equivalent 'wide-angles' of many compact cameras.

Image correction

The GX200 goes wider than the kit lens on a DSLR, and the addition of the optional 0.79x wide-angle converter allows an equivalent of 19mm.

There's negligible impact on the optical quality. It has some pretty strong barrel distortion, but the Ricoh corrects this internally as the image is processed. It works really well, and when this feature is enabled the Ricoh produces straighter lines than any other remotely affordable wide-angle zoom, even with the wide-angle adaptor attached.

Images are composed using the LCD display on the rear, which isn't especially large (2.7 inches) but has twice the resolution of most, at 460,000 pixels. The difference is clear – literally.

Even so, the display can get swamped in bright light. You might consider paying £50 more to get the GX200 kit with an electronic viewﬁnder (EVF) included, which clips on to the accessory shoe. The Ricoh GR does accept an optical viewﬁnder, which is better, but it's not feasible with a zoom lens.

Shoot RAW

As EVFs go, this one isn't bad, and it will work better in bright conditions. It has an extra trick, though – you can rotate it for waist-level or ground-level shooting.

The GX200 also has an optional 'electronic level' function, which displays a levelling bar on the LCD and gives audible alert when the camera's straight. Vibration correction is built-in, you get a 1cm macro mode and you can even shoot RAW ﬁles.

In addition, the Ricoh uses a handy generic DNG format to store images.

Hands-on control

The control layout makes it clear that this is a camera designed for enthusiasts. The main mode dial offers separate Program AE, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and manual settings, plus three user-deﬁned custom conﬁgurations.

The 'Adj.' controller on the rear opens an abbreviated menu system for common settings and it's used with a control wheel on top of the camera to spin quickly through the options. There are two conﬁ gurable Function buttons elsewhere on the body, too.

This camera's size limits the space available for controls, but Ricoh has developed an exceptionally efﬁcient control system for more hands-on photographers. All this would be wasted, of course, if the picture quality wasn't up to scratch… but actually, it is.

Comprehensive compact camera

The Ricoh GX200 is never going to be a match for a 12-megapixel DSLR, but the deﬁnition is good, and the lens proves to be a sharp and consistent performer. The image quality does deteriorate pretty fast as the ISO goes up, but you'd expect that from any compact.

Many DSLR owners will be looking for a smaller compact that they can slide into a pocket, but still gives them enough photographic control. If this is what you're after, the Ricoh GX200 ﬁts the bill perfectly.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX150

James de Vile — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:24:00 +0000

It's no secret that Panasonic and Leica have been sharing much of their compact camera designs for a few years now, and the FX150 shares an almost identical design and button placement to the Leica C-Lux 2.

Though the finer details aren't as iconic, the FX150 still features fantastic build quality, with a solid metal body and retro-styled buttons and sliders.

And then there's that jet-black Vario-Elmarit Leica lens, with its authentic white text. It's as if Panasonic has taken a bog-standard compact and stuck a 50 year old Leica rangefinder lens on the front, and the result is a mishmash look that's hard not to love.

Optically, it's everything you'd expect from the famous lens manufacturer. What's behind it, however, isn't half as impressive.

Little brother to LX3

With its new LX3, Panasonic chose to increase the dimensions of the sensor rather than increase the number of megapixels; a great step towards lower noise, and a welcome change from incessant pixel chasing.

With the FX150, it's as if Panasonic has discarded this way of thinking entirely; last year's FX100 boasted an eyebrow-raising 12 megapixels, so moving to a whopping 14 makes even less sense - other than to offer a lifeline to struggling sales assistants.

A lot has been made of Panasonic's 'Intelligent Auto' mode - this brings together a number of functions seen in various current compacts, as well as a few new tricks. It's designed to do everything it can to increase your chances of taking spontaneous shots that are correctly exposed and blur-free, and for the most part, it does this very well.

The Intelligent Scene Detector, for example, determines exactly what you're trying to take a picture of and adjusts settings to match. City skyline at night? 'Night Landscape' mode is automatically selected, disabling the flash and boosting the sensor's sensitivity.

Intelligent auto functions

Point the camera at someone's face and it'll enable face tracking and flash with red eye reduction. Trying to photograph a moving subject? The Intelligent ISO function will automatically boost image sensitivity if movement is detected.

This worked well in the majority of cases, though lens flare in bright sunlight seemed to confuse the Intelligent ISO system, causing it to boost sensitivity to ISO 800 - usually reserved for night shots - and resulting in noisy, washed out images.

Also in this mode is Focus Tracking - frame your subject dead-centre and hit the Focus Tracking button, and the camera will place a crosshair on the object, tracking it around the frame as you compose your shot. It's a neat feature that does its job admirably.

Other modes include Manual, which provides semi-manual control (you're not able to select any F-stop/shutter combination you like) over the exposure, and a Scene mode.

Scene modes

This provides far more scene modes than you'll ever use - 24, in fact - including some questionable ones such as 'transform > slim', which stretches the image horizontally in order to make your subject appear slimmer.

The resulting image would be more at home in a fairground hall of mirrors, but Panasonic's commitment to addressing the body image concerns of the naïve and the self-conscious is at least slightly commendable.

More plausible modes include 'pinhole', which introduces a heavy vignette and realistic film grain to the image, and 'aerial photo', designed for shots out of plane windows - though only after you've agreed to the camera's warnings to stow it during takeoff and landing, and to listen to your flight attendant.

Perhaps most surprising for a mid-range compact is the inclusion of RAW support, offering a good deal more flexibility over how your shots turn out than in JPEG.

Sadly, no amount of 'pro' features and artificial intelligence can overcome this camera's noise issues. Mix a small sensor with such a ludicrously high pixel count and you've a recipe for noise cocktail - so it's no surprise that any images taken at above ISO 800 border on unusable.

This is only made worse by the FX150's slightly aggressive in-camera sharpening. And with the Intelligent ISO system having a seeming passion for boosting the sensitivity as high as possible when it's not required, you could end up with a memory card full of fuzzy shots. It's just one of many quirks we found in the camera's intelligence that all but ruined the outcome of some great shots.

It's so eager to help and show off its intelligence, but its resulting actions feel a little like meddling. It's a bit like driving an automatic car - when it works, it's beautifully easy, but get to a steep hill or fast junction and you'll ache for a little more control.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35

Leo Waldock — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:40:00 +0000

Panasonic has increased the megapixel rating of the 8MP DMC-FX33 to come up with the 10-megapixel DMC-FX35. The CCD sensor has increased slightly from 10.1mm to 10.9mm, just to keep pace with the change in resolution.

The most intriguing change is inside the lens, which was previously a wide angle that was the equivalent of a 28mm lens, but Panasonic has pushed the lens even further and made it a 25mm ultra-wide angle. This works impressively well and signiﬁcantly increases the ﬁeld of view.

The optical zoom has also been bumped up from 3.6x to 4.0x, so the maximum lens rating on optical zoom is still 100mm.

Confusing layout

Other aspects are less satisfactory, starting with the three ports that live under a cover on the right-hand side.

The middle port can be used with either the USB or composite cables (both supplied), but the two other ports only work with optional cables for power and Component HDTV output that add £60 to
the cost of the camera. It's irritating that the three ports are so similar in size and shape as the less savvy among us will try and fail to plug the USB cable into the wrong port.

The controls use a collection of switches, buttons, a rotary dial and a navigation pad, which might prove intimidating. It's a similar story with the settings, as they are controlled by two separate buttons.

Focusing problems

We found the auto focus and auto ﬂash were both a bit hit and miss. Interior shots were very dark unless we forced the ﬂash, but once they were properly lit the photos were very ﬂat and lacked vibrancy or depth.

Photos taken outside on a bright, sunny day were better, but we still suffered problems with one photo in three being out of focus.

There's no denying the Panasonic DMC-FX35 has its merits, but it also has problems that make it unsuitable for the casual photographer.

Kodak EasyShare M1033

Leo Waldock — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:32:00 +0000

Serious photographers who love ISO settings and white balance would be advised to give the Kodak EasyShare M1033 a wide berth.

Its raison d'être is to work in auto mode (Kodak calls it Smart Capture) where you can simply let the M1033 get on with the job. If you're feeling adventurous you can switch to Program mode, which adds more options to the menu so you can change how the Macro works, your preferred mode for Auto Focus and whether Face Detect is on or off.

Picture modes

The third option is to switch to Scenes, which gives you a choice of 22 preset modes. They include such oddities as 'Manner/Museum – use when sound and ﬂash are not desired' and 'Backlight – use for photos when light is behind the subject.' The menus are clear and easy to navigate and they are assisted by the enormous three-inch LCD screen.

There are very few buttons to bother the casual user, so if, for instance, you want to force it into Macro mode, you have to use Scenes to select Macro mode. However, you can leave the M1033 in Smart Capture mode and it'll do the job for you. It's the strangest feeling to point the Kodak at different objects and see the icons changing as it switches modes on the ﬂy.

Great value camera

This camera took the best array of test photos here using Smart Capture, and the quality only deteriorated when we tried to decide when the ﬂash was necessary. Dr Kodak truly knows best and all this despite an uninspiring speciﬁcation of a regular lens without wide angle, 3x optical zoom and a small 11mm CCD sensor.

We were impressed by the brightness and clarity of the test photos indoors and were surprised to see Kodak's JPEG compression shrank images to 1.5MB, where the other cameras used 3MB to 4MB to do the same job.

On top of all this, the M1033 is incredibly cheap at £129 (inc. VAT), provided you resist the temptation of buying the Kodak EasyShare HD TV Dock for £60 (inc. VAT).

Canon IXUS 85 IS

TechRadar — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 12:09:00 +0000

Canon has got the building of its IXUS cameras down to a ﬁne art.

The casing and controls on the 10-megapixel Canon IXUS 85 IS have barely changed from the earliest 3-megapixel IXUS, which may sound lazy but we feel it's a very good idea.

The ﬂat ﬁnish of the sturdy casing makes it easy to hold securely and it's as easy as can be to stand on a ﬂat surface should you wish to use the self-timer.

Easy to use

The layout is straightforward with a hatch on the bottom that covers the battery and SD card. There is no internal memory, but Canon includes a 32MB SD card in the package to get you started.

Under a cover on the right-hand side, there's a single mini USB port that can be used to connect to your laptop or you can use the supplied Composite cable to display photos and movies on your TV.

The controls are incredibly easy to use as the menus are a model of clarity. In Auto mode you can adjust the picture size and choose from a tiny handful of modes that include Kids & Pets, Portrait and Night Snapshot. The Fujiﬁlm below has 16 scene modes, including Sunset and Fireworks, and while you could argue this is over the top, Canon seem to have erred in the opposite direction.

It's the same story with the rest of the speciﬁcation, as the lens doesn't have a wide angle setting and the 3x optical zoom is rather basic, giving the IXUS 85 a rating that is the 35mm equivalent of 35-105mm.

Sharp pictures

Image quality was generally good, although the digital zoom was typically unusable and made our photos look grainy.

Wherever possible, we also tried to avoid using the optical zoom, as it reduced image quality. Close-up photos were sharp and clear, but interior shots often required the use of ﬂash, even if the room was bright.

On balance we like the IXUS 85 IS, as it's the type of camera you can carry in your pocket or bag where it is ready for instant action, but the price is rather steep for a camera that is relatively basic.

Sony CyberShot DSC-W170

Leo Waldock — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:03:00 +0000

Sony got off to a bad start with its CyberShot DSC-W170, as it uses Memory Stick Duo cards, but there is none supplied in the box.

So this review was conducted with the 15MB of internal memory. Take four photos, transfer them, take four more photos – which forces you to buy a memory card. So you'll need to allocate £10 for 1GB of Duo or £20 for 2GB. This seems a little expensive when you consider an 8GB SD card is just £23.

This Sony-knows-best approach extends to connectivity, as you have to plug an octopus of a cable into a proprietary port on the base of the camera that then gives you USB and composite connections. You'll be ﬁne if your laptop has a Memory Stick card reader, but the alternative is yet another cable that has to be tucked away in your bag.

Dark shots

Sony has got the big numbers right as the 10.1-megapixel rating is matched with a wide angle Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens and 5x optical zoom that gives a 35mm equivalence of 28-140mm. That's all well and good, but there are annoyances aplenty.

The LCD screen is relatively small at 2.3 inches and the W170 is plagued by eight different audio settings. We only require two options – on and off.

Once we'd got to grips with the W170 we found that interior photos were rather dark, but the underlying quality of the images was very good. Exterior shots were generally good, but lacked the extra brightness you expect to see on a bright sunny day. Close-up Macro photos of ﬂowers were good, but lacked the pin-sharp detail we expected to see.

Photos taken towards the sun suffered from lens ﬂare, which is something we used to expect and which you can usually avoid, but it isn't present with many rival cameras, so we have to consider it to be a problem.

You have to work to get used to the Sony, but once you've done that you'll ﬁnd the image quality is good for interior shots but variable for outdoors.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3

Ben Baird — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:32:00 +0000

Panasonic is one of the largest and best-established electrical manufactures in the world It has had a presence in consumer digital imaging for several years.

As well as enthusiast-friendly digital compact cameras, Panasonic has also made a name for itself in recent years with a range of luxury 'LX' models, the LX1, LX2, and now the LX3.

Coming almost two years after the introduction of the LX2, the LX3 features a high-quality 10-million pixel sensor paired with a fast-aperture Leica-designed lens, in a metal body with plenty of manual control over exposure settings.

In theory, the LX3 should be the perfect backup camera for a DSLR photographer. In a brave and unusual move, Panasonic decided to stick with the 10 million-pixel resolution of the LX2, rather than increasing the pixel count of its new flagship in line with other models in the Lumix range.

Only 10 megapixels

Panasonic claims this decision was taken to optimise the image quality, and if true, it represents a refreshing change from the 'pack 'em in' approach to digital camera's pixel counts that we have seen in recent years.

Like the LX2 before it, the LX3 is a solid-feeling, classy lump of metal that looks and feels like it means business.

A 'proper' hotshoe on the top of the body allows you to fit an optical viewfinder (optional) or a (forthcoming) dedicated flash unit, and the optional DMW-LW46 Wide Conversion Lens can be attached to an accessory ring around the front of the lens, allowing the lens to be extended to a wideangle setting of 18mm.

A Panasonic camera just wouldn't feel right without a range of daft scene presets though, and the LX3 doesn't disappoint here either. I especially like the 'Pinhole' scene mode, which effectively replicates the low-contrast, heavily vignetted pinhole camera 'look', albeit in files limited to a disappointingly low resolution of 2.5 million pixels.

In use, the DMC LX3 handles in a similar way to the LX2, with the exception of the slightly larger, brighter LCD screen. The automatic focus isn't the fastest we've ever used - even compared to similar digital compact cameras - but it almost always finds its mark, and when it works, face detection is a useful addition to the feature set.

We say 'when it works' because when set to face detection AF, the LX-3 can behave rather oddly. And we have found on occasion that it diligently sets about recognising 'faces' in scenes that contain no such thing - the wheels of a car, the eyelets of a boat's anchor mooring, and sunflowers, to name but three examples.

Face detection

When a real face is present the system is reasonably reliable though, and usually falters only when the subject presents his or her profile to the camera, or (sometimes) when presented with someone that wears glasses.

Rather than simply providing Face Detection AF alongside other automatic exposure/shooting options in the menu system, Panasonic has also opted to combine all of its 'auto' features into the 'iA' (Intelligent Auto) shooting mode.

In this mode the LX3 basically takes complete control over image-making, and does a remarkably good job of discerning the intended subject, selecting an appropriate ISO sensitivity and balancing colour and contrast for punchy, print-ready JPEG images.

Automatic exposure modes are all very well, but one function that sets the LX-3 apart from a lot of the competition is raw capture mode.

Great low-light performance

We found that in average scenes at low ISO sensitivities, the benefits of shooting in raw mode are limited to fractionally more detail in highlight and shadow areas and greater control over sharpening. At high ISO settings, however, the noise-reduction options provided by Silkypix Developer Studio 3.0 SE (supplied) make it possible to glean considerably more detail from raw files taken in poor light.

Unlike some previous Panasonic digital compact cameras though, the Lumix DMC LX3 remains impressively usable at high ISO settings in JPEG capture, and although undoubtedly noisy, images up to ISO 3200 are acceptable at small print sizes.

Raw+JPEG simultaneous recording (not available in SCN and iA modes) allows advanced photographers to enjoy the best of both worlds.

Overall, in the LX-3 Panasonic has delivered a cracking digital compact camera, and one that will not only satisfy the majority of 'enthusiast' point and shoot photographers, but also a lot of DSLR photographers who hanker for a lightweight, compact backup.

Image quality is great at low to medium ISO sensitivities, and apart from some softness and fringing in the corners of images shot at the 24mm end of the zoom, pictures from the newly developed 10 million-pixel sensor look lovely, especially when created from raw files converted using the supplied Silkypix software.

The LX-3 might not be cheap, but you get what you pay for, and this is one of the best and most versatile compacts we've ever tested.

Minox Rollei MiniDigi 5.0 AF

Tech staff — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:43:00 +0000

Stop, wait: don't look at the rating or the price. Look at the picture again. Isn't it pretty? Isn't it awesome? Doesn't it put a great big grin on your face?

Yes, this is the rebirth of a classic twin-lens camera, shrunk to half scale. And it's digital, which is why we're covering it here on TechRadar.

Basic Spec

Let's get the criticisms out of the way first. It only offers three megapixels (but it does a half decent job of interpolating to five) and though we adore the fact that, like the film-based original, it takes square photos, it does mean that at its default settings it's only spitting out shots that are 1,536 pixels along each side.

If the pictures were actually any good that would be perfectly acceptable from what is effectively an expensive novelty camera.

Any serious photographer will tell you that it's all about the lens, and here it's disappointing. It looks like the system you'd find on last year's cameraphone, and the resulting images are insipid, noisy, poorly exposed and badly balanced. They represent a lesson in how not to take good photographs.

Three years ago they'd have been branded 'good'; these days, Sony Ericsson mobile phones take better shots.

We love this camera

Then there's the price. We can't imagine that licensing and producing a camera like this comes cheap, but £350 is just silly. The same kind of cash buys you a Canon EOS 400D. But despite the shoddy picture quality and the dotty price tag, we love this camera.

So often on TechRadar we're judging things by how powerful they are, how much more productive they make you, or how good they are at a task. But with the Rollei, there's something more.

Car metaphors may be the last resort of the lazy journalist, but we can't escape the comparison that like an Alfa Romeo, this camera has soul. It's more than just retro; from its waist-level popup viewfinder to the handle you have to turn 'to advance the frame' before you can take another shot, it just makes you want to smile.

Novelty gadget

We know it sounds wrong, but you shouldn't buy this camera to take photos. It doesn't even take 'good' bad photos; we were prepared for funky Holga-esque goodness, but no, these are simply of low quality.

And we completely agree that £350 is a hell of a lot of money to spend on a camera that takes crap photos. But, if you're in the enviable position of having £350 to spend on something purely because it will make someone happy, this little chap fits the bill nicely.

Olympus 1030 SW

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:38:00 +0000

If you were to drop a DSLR into a stream it would be toast.

So if you're thinking of journeying into a steamy jungle or snorkelling in a tiger-infested mangrove swamp, you might want to use something a bit tougher and lighter.

In the past, waterproof cameras were hideously expensive behemoths with bulky underwater housings that could only be used by Jacques Cousteau. The Olympus mju 1030 SW looks set to change all that.

Ultra-tough camera

Amazingly, this is the only digital camera fully waterproof to a depth of ten metres without an external housing.

It'll withstand up to 100kg of weight or a drop from two metres. And, as if that weren't enough, it can function in temperatures as low as -10˚C. It even has a 2.7-inch LCD and a 3.6x optical zoom lens.

Now you'd probably expect that such a tough beast would be a bit unattractive and slightly Rubenesque in its proportions. Not a bit of it. The mju 1030 SW slips neatly into any pocket and feels beautifully made.

Rubber seals keep dust and moisture at bay, while a trio of torque bolts secure the coloured accented front panel. By the way, before you ask, the mju 1030 SW is available in silver, black or green.

Point and shoot

Using the camera is child's play. Simply turn it on, point it at your subject and then press the shutter. It couldn't really be much easier.

A small mode wheel or dial at the rear of the camera, next to the impressive LCD screen, offers the choice between Auto, Program, Movie, Scene and Low-light modes.

It's a slightly fiddly dial and if you happen to be wearing thick gloves to keep out the cold, you could find it a problem.

The zoom buttons and other controls are a bit tiny too, but that's the price you pay for a camera that's tough but eminently pocketable.

Underwater photography

Powering up is nice and snappy. You can be in picture-taking mode within half a second.

Press the display button and you can toggle between a clear screen, a grid or a live histogram. That live histogram could come in pretty handy underwater where exposures can be notoriously tricky.

However, don't worry too much as there are four special underwater scene modes for you to choose from.

The other feature we like is the built-in depth gauge. You can calibrate the gauge yourself and then when you do slip into the water it will give you an on-screen read-out showing the depth at which you're diving.

Remember, you have ten metres of depth to play with, which is good going for a compact that's unencumbered by an expensive waterproof housing.

Plentiful features

Obviously, with this type of camera there's very little point in having Aperture or Shutter Priority modes.

However, you do have exposure compensation, 24 scene modes, flash settings, macro and a self-timer.

There's almost everything you'd need but for a physical anti-shake device.

Good quality images

So… how does this little bruiser of a compact camera perform? Not badly is the honest answer.

Naturally, you can't expect SLR quality and with the lack of proper image stabilisation the auto ISO can soon stray into higher noise levels.

Without real image stabilisation the camera shake starts to become a problem at any speed lower than 1/30s.

For when you're macro shooting there's a neat LED lamp that's positioned next to the built-in flash. This can be turned on for illuminating close-up shots.

Shutter lag is fairly minimal, which is just as well if you're trying to catch pictures of fish underwater.

Ultimate compact

Although the image quality isn't anything to get very excited about, this is the sort of compact camera that will enable you to take pictures in places that are normally inaccessible to regular camera users.

That sort of flexibility is a pretty good trade-off and marks the Olympus mju 1030 a tough camera to beat whenever you find yourself in a tight or a wet corner.

Nikon CoolPix P80

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:57:00 +0000

On paper, it looks as if the Nikon P80 can do anything you'd ever ask of a camera.

The 18x zoom covers a range equivalent to 27mm to nearly 500mm, and in-built image stabilisation should help keep those long shots steady.

Keen photographers like to fiddle with the shutter speed and aperture, and the P80's SLR-style Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual modes should make this straightforward.

Additionally, the 10MP resolution matches that of most digital SLRs, as does the ISO range, which goes right up to ISO 6400. So, who needs an SLR, when you can get all this for £300?

Lacklustre autofocus

But things aren't quite what they seem. The P80 does everything it claims, but just not terribly well.

The tiny sensors which make these huge zoom ranges possible don't provide the same smoothness and definition as a digital SLR, and really fall to pieces at higher ISO settings.

The autofocus systems are generally slower and the electronic viewfinders used by this type of superzoom are coarse-grained and sometimes hard to make out in bright light.

The zoom range, photographic features and prices of superzoom cameras might still make them tempting. The problem with the P80, though, is that the limitations of this camera type have gone just a little too far in this particular model.

Sluggish operation

There are three issues with the P80: the autofocus performance, the electronic viewfinder and the general handling.

Superzoom cameras don't focus as fast as digital SLRs, and this makes it difficult to tackle the very subjects you might have hoped they'd be good at - sports and wildlife.

The Nikon feels sluggish even by superzoom standards. At longer focal lengths, you need subjects to stay still for at least a couple of seconds for the AF to lock on properly.

The electronic viewfinder is another problem. Unlike the optical viewfinder in an SLR, which is as bright as the subject it's showing, EVFs have a fixed brightness level.

The Nikon's is fine on a dull day or indoors, but becomes quite hard to make out in bright sunlight to the extent that you can't see what's in the darker areas at all.

Cramped controls

The third problem is this camera's handling. The small size means the controls are a little cramped, but they're easy enough to locate and use.

The real issue is that the EV compensation button (the 'right' button on the navipad) is right where the base of your thumb rests while you're holding the camera.

Time and time again the EV compensation slider popped up on the screen just because the button had been inadvertently squashed, and it wouldn't go away until the OK button had been pressed.

Is this being over-critical? It might sound like a minor point, but it was a major source of aggravation.

Clever features

Which is a pity, because the P80 does have some clever features. Its face-detection mode is standard in compact cameras these days, and the D-Lighting system (for lightening dark shadows) will be familiar to anyone who's used other recent Nikon cameras.

But the P80's in-camera distortion correction is clever, removing those bowed horizons and curved 'straight' lines that you normally get with wide-angle shots. The P80 offers some fast continuous-shooting modes, too, though these are at a reduced resolution of 3-million pixels.

The top speed of 13fps is pretty amazing, even if the camera's buffer does fill up after a couple of seconds. The odd thing, though, is that the ISO is restricted to a minimum of ISO 640.

Unfortunately, this camera's good points can't overcome its failings. The slow AF, poor electronic viewfinder and poor handling really do get in the way of the very kind of shots it ought to be good at producing.